Brent Spiner, Rene Auberjonois, Usher and Seth Adkins Join Drew Carey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Production Begins On `Geppetto'.

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--June 10, 1999--

First Original Musical for `The Wonderful World of Disney'

Production has begun on "Geppetto" starring Drew Carey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brent Spiner, Rene Auberjonois, Usher and Seth Adkins. This marks the first original musical being produced specifically for "The Wonderful World of Disney," and is scheduled to air during the 1999-2000 television season on ABC.

The film, with music and lyrics by Academy Award(R) winner Stephen Schwartz, stars Carey ("The Drew Carey Show") as the famous Italian toy maker and father to Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who wants nothing more than to be a real boy; and Louis-Dreyfus ("Seinfeld") as the Blue Fairy, who helps make their wishes come true.

Spiner ("Independence Day," "Star Trek: The Next Generation") stars as the colorful yet unscrupulous puppeteer and showman, Stromboli; Auberjonois ("Inspector Gadget,""Star Trek: Deep Space Nine") as Professor Buonragazzo who makes nothing but perfect children in Idyllia; recording star Usher ("The Faculty," "She's All That") as Pleasure Island's Ringleader; and Seth Adkins ("First Do No Harm") as Pinocchio.

"Geppetto" is a comic and musical retelling of the classic story of Pinocchio as told from Geppetto's point of view while Pinocchio is off on his adventure. Geppetto just wants a child to complete his life and when the Blue Fairy grants his wish for a son, he wonders if he's made a terrible mistake, never realizing how difficult it is to raise a child.

It's only after Pinocchio runs away to join Stromboli's Marionette Circus and ultimately falls under the unsavory influences of the Ringleader and his gang on Pleasure Island that Geppetto realizes he doesn't want to face life without Pinocchio. As he sets out to find his Pinocchio and encounters the bizarre Professor Buonragazzo along the way, Geppetto finally realizes what his son really means to him.

Spiner is best known for his days as Data both on the small screen in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in the feature films "Star Trek: Generations" and "Star Trek: First Contact." He has also starred in the blockbuster films "Independence Day" and "Phenomenon." Other feature film credits include "Stardust Memories," "The Miss Firecracker Contest," "Pie in the Sky" and "Out to Sea."

Additional television films for Spiner include "Huey Long" and "Crazy from the Heart" as well as guest roles on "Mad About You," "Outer Limits," "Dream On" and "Cheers." In theatre, Spiner starred as John Adams in a revival of the musical "1776" in New York, and in the Broadway productions of "Sunday in the Park With George," "Big River" and "The Three Musketeers."

Additional theatre work includes roles in "The Seagull," "Leave it To Beaver is Dead," "New Jerusalem," "Emigres," "Table Setting," "No End of Blame" and "Little Shop of Horrors."

Auberjonois is also known for his days on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as well as the popular television series "Benson." He has guest starred on such series as "ER," "Murder, She Wrote," "Charlie's Angels," "The Bob Newhart Show," "Hart to Hart," and "The Rockford Files," to name a few. His film credits include "Batman Forever," "The Player," "Eyes of Laura Mars" and "M*A*S*H."

He also lent his vocal talents to the role of Louis in "The Little Mermaid" and Talking Skull in "The Last Unicorn." In theatre, he received the Tony Award for his role in the Broadway production of "Coco," and received Tony nominations for "City of Angels," "Big River" and "The Good Doctor." As a director, he has helmed multiple episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Marblehead Manor."

Usher is the R&B singing sensation whose album "My Way" yielded him his first platinum single "You Make Me Wanna...." The single reached No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, second only to Elton John's Princess Diana Tribute "Candle In The Wind," staying at the No. 1 spot on Billboard's R&B chart for 11 weeks.

Usher has lent his voice to several projects including the Coca-Cola jingle for the 1995 holiday season; his single "Dreamin'" was incorporated into the 1996 Olympic Album "Rhythm of The Games"; and he did a duet on Monica's debut platinum album remaking the hit "Let's Straighten It Out."

In addition to his recording career, Usher played the role of Raymond in the CBS soap opera "The Bold & The Beautiful." His feature credits include "The Faculty" and "She's All That." He is currently filming "Texas Rangers."

Adkins starred with Meryl Streep in the telefilm "First Do No Harm" and recently filmed the NBC telefilm "The Promise." Other television roles include "Little Monsters," "Small Talk," "Sabrina The Teenage Witch," "ER," "Family Business," "C-16," "The Pretender" and "Touched By An Angel." His feature credits include "Titanic," "Mafia!" and "Stir." Adkins also lent is voice to the animated feature "Baby Geniuses."

Tom Moore ("Grease") directs from a script by David I. Stern with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz ("Pocahontas," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"). Mike Karz ("Toothless") and Jim Pentecost ("Pocahontas") are the executive producers. The film is a presentation of Walt Disney Television for "The Wonderful World of Disney."